Rise of the Wolf
'YOU'RE THE LAST OF THE WEREWOLVES. DON'T FIGHT IT, SON: EMBRACE IT. CONQUER IT.' Summary When the air is clear, sixteen year-old Drew Ferran can pick up the scent of a predator. When the moon breaks through the clouds, a terrifying fever grips him. And when a vicious beast invades his home, his flesh tears, his fingers become claws, and Drew transforms . . . Forced to flee the family he loves, Drew seeks refuge in the most godforsaken parts of Lyssia. But when he is captured by Lord Bergan's men, Drew must prove he is not the enemy. Synopsis Part 1 Drew Ferran lives on a farm on the Cold Coast, outside of Tuckborough with his parents, Mack and Tilly, as well as his non-identical twin brother Trent. When preparing to deliver their reaping to the market, Drew senses a creature responsible for the death of a ram the previous day. When asked for his opinion on it, he tells Trent that he thinks it is a wolf. After his brother and father leave, Drew is taken by a sudden illness, after he realises that even the farm animals seem nervous about the mysterious predator. While talking to his mother, who has just begun to explain that he is "different", a beast breaks into the house. Drew, using his father's Wolfshead blade, is quickly overpowered and his mother is killed. The fever overtakes him, and the boy turns into a werewolf, engaging the beast and tearing off part of its head before being overpowered. Fortunately, the boy is spared by the arrival of his father and brother. However, with the beast fled, his father blames Drew for Tilly's death, attacking him with the Wolfshead blade. Drew survives and flees his home as his father calls on nearby farmers to help slay him. The boy escapes into the Dyrewood, the Wolfshead blade still embedded in his stomach. Part 2 6 months later, the scout Hogan and his apprentice Whitley are searching the Dyrewood, on the outskirts of Brackenholme, for a beast that has been sighted numerous times. Whitley's horse suddenly becomes startled and throws the apprentice off, just as Whitley sees the beast. The beast advances, but oddly does not kill the scout-to-be, who promptly faints from shock. The beast is, of course, Drew, who is later overpowered by Hogan, his arm being broken in the process. He is tied up and dragged towards Brackenholme to be delivered to Duke Bergan (Hogan having realised that he is a human). The scouts care for him and Hogan notices that Drew's arm has healed at an accelerated rate. Although convinced that he is a Wylderman at first, the duo is astonished when he not only speaks in full sentences, but respectfully. Drew earns their trust when Wyldermen attack and wound Hogan. He helps to bring him back to Brackenholme with Whitley, but, unsure of his own future, does not intend to enter the city himself. However, he is captured on the borders by the Woodland Watch as Captain Harker, the man in charge, finds Hogan's notebook, which contains his observations of the young therianthrope. When arrested, Drew is fed by a jailer and witnesses atrocities commited by the King's Lionguard from his window. When the jailer attempts to question him, he retorts, saying he will only speak to Duke Bergan, who the jailer turns out to be. The Duke reveals himself to be a Werebear and thanks him for saving someone dear to him (Drew assumes this to be Hogan, who seemed to be a respected figure by the Watch). However, they are interrupted by the appearance of Prince Lucas and Vankaskan, who demand Drew to be delivered to Highcliff, where King Leopold resides. Duke Bergan tells Lucas that Drew is mute, but the Prince decides to have Vankaskan torture out of the Wolflord. He stays true to his word on the journey, where Drew is constantly thrashed to within an inch of his life, then left alone to recover with his advanced abilities. Drew stays silent, but eventually opens up to Hector, Vankaskan's apprentice, a healer whose medicines help boost his natural regenerative powers. Being put in a moral quandary by his talk with Drew, Hector decides to free him when Wyldermen attack the convoy leading from Brackenholme. A mysterious figure appears to escort them away and is quickly revealed to be Harker: Duke Bergan had led the attack, using the night to disguise his men and save Drew from an eventual death. Bergan gives the two boys the supplies necessary to survive, while also telling Drew that he is the son of the former king, Wergar. Part 3 While on the run, Hector teaches the ignorant Drew of the Werelords and their origins, while Drew muses that the two friends are now fugitives. Hector also reveals himself to be a Werelord as well: he is a Boarlord, eldest son of Baron Huth of Redmire, where the boys soon arrive. Although the Baron himself is welcoming to Drew, he is quickly antagonised by Lady Gretchen, the future Queen of the land (betrothed to Lucas) and Hector's cousin. Huth helps Drew prepare for his exile with the help of Hector and Vincent (Hector's twin brother), and it is decided that Omir, the desert land ruled by the Jackals, is the best place to lose himself. Hector must also disappear; he is forced to flee to Icegarden (ruled by Duke Henrik, who is a friend of Huth's and a resenter of Leopold's rule), given the circumstances of his escape. Drew clashes with Gretchen again, but also stumbles upon her sadly singing to herself in the middle of the night. Upon the day of departure however, the Lionguard appear (two weeks earlier than expected: they were intended to be Gretchen's escort to her wedding), called for by Vincent. When Huth tries to resist the group, he is killed by Captain Brutus' silver sword. When Brutus advances on Drew however, the boy takes Gretchen hostage and escapes by the Redwine river with Hector. Upon their journey, Hector teaches Drew more about Lyssia's geography and tells him about King Wergar: he was beloved by his people and soldiers, but was a warmongerer. When he chose one campaign too many (the conquest of Omir, ironically), Bergan refused to assist. Upon his absence, Leopold came forward and took over the relatively undefended country (defeating the lingering Duke Bergan in the process), kidnapping Wergar's family and telling Bergan that they would only be safe if Wergar were to surrender the throne and go into exile. Bergan relays the message to the weary Wergar upon his return, his pleas bolstered by others (Baron Huth, being a scholar as well as a magister, also exploited his superstitious nature). Before Hector can complete the tale, the trio's raft reaches the Bott Marshes. The trio find room in a nearby inn, but after Gretchen goes to freshen up, the boys witness a man being beaten by Lionguard (oblivious to the events in Redmire). Drew makes a stand against the soldiers, but reveals his identity in the process. When retreating to their quarters, they see that Gretchen has fled: she is now in Wyldermen territory. Part 4 They quickly find the tribe responsible, but a negotiation turns into a bloodbath as a fight ensues and the shaman is killed after saying she has been sacrificed to Vala, the Wyrm Goddess (a Wereserpent who supposedly cast her humanity aside and most likely perished years ago). Drew frets about the dead end, but Hector reveals that he has studied the forbidden art of communing. Using this knowledge, he revives the shaman and extorts the necessary information from him. When the ceremony goes wrong, Drew slays the zombie before the boys enter the forest and find Vala to be real. Drew is able to overcome her and saves Gretchen after a struggle, but is overcome by venom he ingested in the process. Gretchen also faints from her injuries, leaving Hector alone in the wild. Part 5 Hector has been able to treat both Drew and Gretchen and is now heading to All Hallows Bay, having found a horse and cart for use. It is here that Gretchen realises that Drew is in fact a good person and treats him with respect, also implying that she has turned her back on the idea of marriage with Lucas. At the harbour, the boys plan to flee overseas and leave Gretchen to find her way back home (having obtained her word that she will not betray them). To this end, they obtain a room in The Drowning Man Inn, and Hector introduces Drew to Captain Cane, who will provide them safe passage. However, the Captain seems to know too much about them and Drew realises that he has fallen into a trap as the sedative in his drink overpowers him... He awakens on the Maelstrom, and is informed that Cane is actually Count Vega, Prince of the Cluster Isles. He had betrayed Wergar to Leopold when Leopold had taken the advantage, but had been exiled by the new king for this. However, he is delivering Drew, Hector and Gretchen to Highcliff in hopes of regaining the king's favour. The ship is attacked by a rival and Drew saves the life of Casper, a boy on the ship, while Vega is revealed to be a Wereshark. Unfortunately he is adamant on turning the boy in. Part 6 Drew is imprisoned upon arrival and is beaten with silver weapons. He is delivered before Leopold, just as the other Counts and Dukes arrive, Lucas' wedding having been moved forward. Leopold, eager to eliminate the last of the Grey Wolves declares Drew to be executed, despite the words of Bergan and the Duke Manfred and Earl Mikkel (both Staglords, and brothers). Vega is also disappointed; Leopold refuses to reinstate him as Prince of the Cluster Isles. Drew is visited by Gretchen in his prison, and tells her about his past, and the event which changed his life. Gretchen identifies the beast as a Wererat and reasons that Drew must have been pureblooded if he had to have been assassinated; his mother must have been Wergar's wife, who was taken by Leopold as his own, making her Lucas' mother also: Queen Amelie. Meanwhile, Bergan has reached the same conclusion after Vega tells him of Drew's actions aboard the Maelstrom. In fact, he even knows Drew's real name: Willem. The two, along with the Staglords, plan to help Drew escape death. Bergan recalls the name Drew took as his own, "Ferran", hoping to find his surrogate father. When Drew is to be executed, he yells that he is the rightful king of Lyssia, and names his mother. When Leopold brings the blade down though, a section of the Lionguard suddenly attacks, one saving Drew at the cost of his own life as Leopold transforms. Drew also transforms and is able to hold his ground, noticing some Lionguard have revealed their true colours: those of the Wolfguard. THe two factions reach a stalemate and Leopold retreats to his castle. Drew discovers the man who saved his life was Mack, who had been found through Bergan's contacts in the Lionguard and convinced to help his son. Drew enters Highcliff castle as the drawbridge goes up and makes a stand against the king, who decides to have the eldest member of the Rat King, and Vankaskan's brother, Vanmorten, who is revealed to have been the one to have killed Tilly. Drew loses a finger in the fight but sets the Wererat on fire before diving into the moat, where he is saved by Vega. He meets the Queen and also encounters Whitley again. She is Bergan's daughter. Bergan himself tells him that his old life is over. He sees the inhabitants of Highcliff cheering: cheering for their rightful king.